Group laments lack of potable water in Ogoni

A group, Social Action, yesterday, lamented the continued lack of portable water after 10 years the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) released its report on the four councils that make up the Ogoni ethnic nationality in Rivers State.

Executive Director, Social Action, Dr. Isaac Osuoka, expressed concern about the health condition of people living in the area.

Osuoka, who was represented by the Coordinator of Communication of Social Action, Peter Mazzi, spoke at a town hall meeting themed: ‘Where is the water for Ogoniland?’

He noted that despite the setting up of an interventionist agency such as the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to implement the UNEP report five years ago, communities in Ogoni are still grappling with basic need as portable water.

According to Osuoka, the UNEP report recommended two phases of tenure of activities to address environmental contamination in Ogoniland, which are the emergency measure and the remediation phases.

He noted that HYPREP misplaces priority and is confronted by administrative bottlenecks and politics, which have caused the people continued health issues.

He said: “The UNEP recommended a two-phase tenure of activities to address environmental contamination in Ogoniland. The emergency measures and the remediation phases.

“The cleanup process has been bedeviled with administrative bottlenecks, politics, and priority Misplacement.

“Ten years after the release of the report and five years after the flag-off of the cleanup of Ogoniland, communities still do not have access to clean drinking water.”